The Congress has said that Kurien's name was cleared in the case by the Supreme Court and it was for state investigation agencies or the apex court to make any further observations in the matter.

Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy has refused to reopen the case.

According to party sources, there is no "tolerance" in the Congress for a serious charge like rape, but a person cannot be "hanged" merely on the basis of an allegation.

"If this is done without taking all the facts into account, it could set a dangerous trend," said a Congress leader.

But the Congress, which plans to pass a tough anti-rape law in the budget session, understands the embarrassment it could face when parliament debates the issue with Kurien in the chair.

A possible compromise formula could be that Kurien may offer not to officiate as deputy chairman of the Rajya Sabha to calm the opposition, sources said.

They added that the matter may not be blown out of proportion if the opposition is taken into confidence on the issue.

"Kurien had filed a defamation case against his detractors earlier and won. There were no counter appeals. He had won elections but the issue was never raised. Why now?" said a Congress leader.

The sex scandal took place at Suryanelli in Kerala's Idukki district January 1996, when the then 16-year-old was allegedly threatened, abducted and abused by a bus conductor and was later confined and sexually assaulted for 45 days by 42 men.